Meet the reviewer
Columbia Park View Fleece: first impressions
As is often the case with Columbia apparel, the Park View Fleece prioritizes function over form and fashion, and at first glance it can seem like pretty everyday item. This top is much more technical than it first appears, however, and I have been particularly impressed with its versatility.
• List price: $60 (US) / £65 (UK)
• Fabric: 100% Polyester Smooth Face Grid Back Fleece
• Gender availability: Men’s / Women’s
• Sizes: XS–XXL
• Weight (large): 430g / 15oz
• Colors: Men’s: Skyler / Black / Collegiate Navy / Light Camel / Canteen / Light Raisin / Raw Honey / Warp Red / Night Wave; Women’s: Juicy / Cirrus Grey / Black / Cosmos / Canteen / Night Wave / Purple Tint / Beetroot / Peach / Faded Peach
• Best for: Hiking, biking, trekking, climbing, camping, kayaking
Fairly thin for a fleece, it’s armed with Omniwick tech that makes it ideal for wearing during active pursuits ranging from hiking and biking, right through to climbing and canoeing.
The Columbia Park View Fleece is intended as an outerwear garment during the summer months and into fall, when it’s perfect for chilly mornings and post-sunset hangouts at the crag and camp. It’s also an ideal midlayer that works without adding too much bulk when you wear it over a base layer and beneath a waterproof shell, puffer jacket, softshell or windcheater in spring, late fall and winter.
Columbia Park View Fleece: design and materials
Available in a spectrum of colors for men and women, the Columbia Park View Fleece is constructed entirely from polyester (although, sadly, none of it appears to be recycled, which is disappointing for any modern synthetic garment, but especially a fleece).
With a smooth outer face, the inner features the grid pattern of Columbia’s Omniwick fabric technology, which is designed to promote moisture management during dynamic activities – so when you work up a sweat on the hills, trails and crags, it is wicked away to the outside of the garment, meaning you’re not left feeling uncomfortably damp or at risk of getting cold due to wind chill.
There’s no hood on this full-zip top, but it boasts a high collar with a chin guard to prevent skin/beard hair becoming caught in the zipper. The sleeves have thumb loops, which I always like to see on a midlayer garment, and an elasticated cuff. There are two hand pockets on the Columbia Park View Fleece, and a chest pocket on the left breast – all with zippers that feature long pull cords so you can operate them with cold hands or when you have hiking gloves on.
So far, so good, but you can only really tell how a top performs once you’ve used it in the wild, and I have spent the last seven months putting this one through its paces in a wide range of environments, and in all sorts of weather conditions, to see how it performs compared to the best fleeces on the market.
Columbia Park View Fleece: on the trails
I first wore the Columbia Park View Fleece during an autumnal hut-hiking adventure in the French Alps with my colleague Julia, where we were trail-testing a whole new range of Columbia gear with product experts from the brand. At the time it was probably the least eye-catching element of the entire collection, which included the Arch Rock Double Wall Elite Insulated Jacket (which contains NASA-technology no less), but I wore it for the entire trip, and it has been the garment I have grabbed more often than any of the others over the last nine months.
Its non-flashy appearance belies a very versatile and functional top, and I have now worn the Columbia Park View Fleece during all four seasons of the year. And not just because I had to test it, but because it offered just the right level of thermal protection and performance for whatever I was doing at the time – be that going for a hike, heading out on my bike, scrambling around a rockface, camping with the kids or walking the dog.
When I’m breaking a sweat doing something active, like trekking or bikepacking, the top deals with the moisture so I don’t feel damp and start shivering when I pause for food or a break. I like the fact that it doesn’t have a hood (a feature that’s often more of an annoyance than an asset when you’re out in the wilds), and I especially love the little features like the thumb loops that stop the sleeves riding up my arms when I put an extra layer on.
There aren’t many things to write home about with the Columbia Park View Fleece – it’s just a well-designed, solid performer of a top, which works in a massive range of environments and conditions. And it’s priced very reasonably too: the list price is $60 / £65, but you will often see it for less than half that (making it cheaper than many technical running T-shirts and hiking shirts, and you get a lot more bang for your buck with this top).
I have noticed some slight fraying on the stitching around one of the elasticated cuffs, but this doesn’t look too serious, and the polyestor construction means this is a robust and tough top, which should last for years. It’s just a pity no recycled content has been used – something Columbia could and should put right very easily.
